What is Vitamin B1? Uses of Thiamin for health

Vitamin B1 or Thiamin, is a vitamin of the B group and is water-soluble. Vitamin B1 has many uses when it comes to protecting heart health, preventing Alzheimer’s disease, supporting digestion in children,… In today’s article, let’s learn more about this vitamin with Tnhelearning.edu.vn!

What is Vitamin B1?

Vitamin B1 or Thiamin is the first B vitamin discovered, this vitamin is an essential nutrient for human tissues and organs, helping them to function properly.

Like other vitamins in the B group, thiamin is water soluble. This vitamin is present in many daily foods and multivitamins.

What is Vitamin B1?

For humans, Thiamine helps convert carbohydrates into glucose, which forms energy for tissues and organs to function properly . Vitamin B1 deficiency can affect the functioning of many organs, including the heart, nervous system, and brain.

Health benefits of Vitamin B1

For adults

• The main role of vitamin B1 is to provide energy for the body . Because vitamin B1 helps convert starch and sugar into energy.
• Vitamin B1 protects the brain against damage and degeneration. In addition, vitamin B1 affects the nervous system, helps to relax, improves memory, increases concentration.
• Vitamin B1 also helps improve heart health, prevent Alzheimer’s disease and reduce the risk of cataracts .

Health benefits of Vitamin B1

For pregnant women

• Vitamin B1 is essential for the development of the fetus , affecting the formation of the child’s nervous and cardiovascular systems while in the womb.
• Vitamin B1 reduces the risk of nutritional metabolic disorders in pregnant women.

For children

• Vitamin B1 increases appetite, supports the digestive system of children to work better.
• Vitamin B1 deficiency in children can lead to anorexia, constipation, digestive disorders. More serious can cause muscle atrophy, swelling in the legs, mental confusion, or heart failure in infants.

Besides, many questions are raised as to what vitamin B1 does for the skin and what does vitamin B1 do for the hair that are often found in skin and hair care products. The answer is that vitamin B1 has the effect of preventing skin aging, whitening, treating acne, reducing dark spots, … and making hair stronger, anti-oxidant hair, as well as providing adequate nutrition to hair growth.

Harmful effects of vitamin B1 deficiency

• Symptoms of a small amount of vitamin B1 deficiency: Indigestion, constipation, numbness of hands and feet, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle aches.
• Prolonged deficiency of large amounts of Vitamin B1 will lead to loss of sensation in the lower extremities. In more severe cases, the patient shows muscle atrophy . More seriously, the patient can have edema of the entire lower extremities, can not walk, can cause death from heart failure in children.
• For pregnant and lactating women, long-term vitamin B1 deficiency will make children more susceptible to heart failure and muscle atrophy.

Vitamin B1 is found in which foods?

According to the Harvard School of Public Health website, grains and rice are good sources of vitamin B1. Vitamin B1 is mainly found in the thin outer shell of these nuts.

Legumes such as soybeans, peas … brewer’s yeast, meats, fish and eggs also have a lot of vitamin B1.

In addition, powdered milk is considered an effective source of vitamin B1 and other B vitamins, easily absorbed by the body, especially for children.

How to use Vitamin B1

Pregnant and lactating women

Pregnant women need more vitamin B1 than usual, at about 1.8mg per day to better nourish the fetus and baby after birth.

Because vitamin B1 will be transferred into breast milk and nourish the baby. Therefore, pregnant women need to pay attention to supplement vitamin B1 as well as other vitamins to ensure a healthy mother and a good baby.

Children are anorexic

Vitamin B1 helps support the secretion of hydrochloric acid, which is essential for the digestive system. Stimulating appetite and beneficial in maintaining weight for children with anorexia, need to provide about 0.5 – 1mg with children per day to ensure comprehensive development.

Subjects and dosage to supplement

Malnourished people

When we get enough vitamin B1 into the body, they will create an energy source to help your metabolism run more smoothly, help the body absorb nutrients better, thereby having a healthy life. strong.

Therefore, malnourished people need to get enough vitamin B1 to help them gain more easily

Alcoholics and beer addicts

In the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, we are required to give high doses of vitamin B1 (over 200 mg/day) . Some preparations containing vitamin B1 are commonly used.

Because alcoholics have chronic vitamin B1 deficiency. Patients can have acute myocarditis, polyneuritis and many other lesions caused by vitamin B1 deficiency.

How to use Vitamin B1

People with weakened immune systems

People with weakened immune systems or on dialysis or taking diuretics are also at risk for thiamine deficiency . Diuretics, prescribed for people with congestive heart failure, can cause thiamine to leave the body.

The functioning of the heart relies on thiamine to function properly. People taking digoxin and phenytoin should also be careful about their effects.

Notes when using Vitamin B1

• Do not use rice that has been milled too well or wash the rice too much before cooking, it is easy to lose vitamin B1 in rice.
• If you cook porridge, you should use boiling water to cook to retain more vitamin B1 in the rice grain.
• Limit the use of beverages that contain a lot of alcohol and caffeine, such as wine and coffee. Because these drinks cause vitamin B1 to be quickly eliminated from the body.
• Do not process foods too carefully, cooking at high temperatures will easily lose vitamin B1.
• It is recommended to use more milk powder to ensure that the amount of vitamin B1 absorbed is not lost, especially for young children.

Notes when using Vitamin B1

Are there any side effects of taking Vitamin B1?

Vitamin B1 is generally quite safe for all subjects , when you take oral vitamin B1 supplements at the right dose, it will rarely cause skin reactions.

Currently , there is no evidence that thiamin interacts with other medications used to treat other conditions, so you can safely take this vitamin supplement.

See more: Vitamin C and their uses

Vitamin B1 as well as other B vitamins are essential for a healthy cardiovascular and digestive system in adults and children. Children and pregnant women can get enough of the vitamin B1 the body needs by using formula milk.

Source: Harvard School of Public Health website

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